Slimline

[BernieW]

I have a question about slimline pens and pens that use the same transmission assembly.
Whenever I do slimlines the turning part I have no problem with and they finish out quite well. I have no problems there. My problem is I make a lot of slimlines and pens that have the slimline transmission that is pressed in. When you turn it the pen tip comes out of the assembled pen. It seems lately that I have had quite a few when all is said and done, meaning the pen is assembled then when I turn the top part of the pen it just keeps on
turning. Sometimes the tip does not come out or go back in. I have had quite a few come back after say a month to 3 months and they tell me the top just turns either way and either the pen tip won't come out or it won't go back in. Any suggestions or tips for something like this? I have gotten to the point that I don't even make them any more or pens that use the same transmission. I have no problems with cigars, Sierra, Wallstreets, El
Grandes, etc. It is just frustrating because I need pens in the lower price bracket and I have sold quite a few but it just seems like in the last 6 months or so I started having these troubles. I don't want to sell pens that are going to come back in 3 months or so. Thanks for any help or tips.

 

[mredburn]

Test the opening in the nose cone. You may have a slightly reduced opening and the refill is sticking. That happens occasionally. You may need a small drill bit to clean it out. Have you checked to see if the upper tube is just sliding around on the tranny not gripping it?

 

[David M]

I try to use the same brand tubes and transmissions. Sometimes the tubes fit loose on the transmission from one brand to another slips or spins. Also like mike said check the refill make sure it is free to move. The probles that i have had is been with the cheeper - hobbie giveaway kits- transmissions , but it wasnt that . Good luck
David

 

[its_virgil]

I think the problem is poor quality control in the selection of brass tubes. I get some kits whose tubes are very loose on the transmission and others are so tight fitting that the pen is next to impossible to pull apart. Loose tubes happen more than the really tight fitting ones. Here is the solution I use for loose tubes on a transmission. Get yourself a spring loaded punch (google spring loaded punch) and punch a rows of indentions around the transmission. The indentions will raise around the location of the punch just enough to make the tube grab the transmission a little better. Put a ring of these indentions all the way around about two thirds the way up from the bottom end. I do hope this makes sense.

Maybe this will be a little clearer; read this: http://penmakersguild.com/articles/tiptricks.pdf age 2:loose fitting 7mm transmission.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[Smitty37]

First - using your fingers, make sure the transmission works properly before installing (most will). Second see if the brass tube you are going to use slides fairly easily but firmly over the end of the transmission and make sure you can turn the transmission by hand before turning anything. Now any 7mm transmission should work with any 7mm tube but sometimes they don't. My best guess is that it is a difference in the tubes' id.

 

[mick]

Bernie if I'm understanding you right the tranny is just turning in the upper tube, not grabbing. This is a common problem when tubes an d hardware get mixed up. What I do to all my transmission is take the smallest punch ( use the one from my harbor freight transfer punches) and grind the end to a fairly sharp point. Use this at an angle as deep in the tranny and tap a couple of time with a small hammer. This should create a dimple. Do this three or four time around the barrel of the transmission. These dimes will now "grab " the upper barrel and twist the tranny as it should. Hope this helps

 

[mick]

Virgil beat me to it as I was typing!

 

[Sylvanite]

Check out http://www.penturners.org/forum/f14/how-do-i-fix-loose-slimline-94963/

 

[Smitty37]

I think the problem is poor quality control in the selection of brass tubes. I get some kits whose tubes are very loose on the transmission and others are so tight fitting that the pen is next to impossible to pull apart. Loose tubes happen more than the really tight fitting ones. Here is the solution I use for loose tubes on a transmission. Get yourself a spring loaded punch (google spring loaded punch) and punch a rows of indentions around the transmission. The indentions will raise around the location of the punch just enough to make the tube grab the transmission a little better. Put a ring of these indentions all the way around about two thirds the way up from the bottom end. I do hope this makes sense.

Maybe this will be a little clearer; read this: http://penmakersguild.com/articles/tiptricks.pdf age 2:loose fitting 7mm transmission.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

The fix for this is to grind a little (or a lot) off the dimples on the transmission.

 

[Sylvanite]

The fix for this is to grind a little (or a lot) off the dimples on the transmission.

Or (for a tight fitting transmission) if you have a collet chuck, you can squeeze the transmission in a collet to reduce its diameter slightly. Be careful not to over-squeeze it though.

I hope that helps,
Eric

 

[BernieW]

Thank you for all the replies and help. Yes my problem is the top tube is loose and will not turn the transmission with any certainty. I will give the suggestions a try Mick and Don. I sold 17 slimlines in October at a craft fair. So far 9 have come back. 5 I got to work rather well by replaceing the transmission but the others no luck. So will try the punch trick and see how it goes. Thank you to all again for the info and help.

By the way I don't mix or match parts. All pens are done with the kit that comes in the bag. As was stated I did notice some tubes just don't seem to be the same fit as others.

 

[Smitty37]

I have a question about slimline pens and pens that use the same transmission assembly.
Whenever I do slimlines the turning part I have no problem with and they finish out quite well. I have no problems there. My problem is I make a lot of slimlines and pens that have the slimline transmission that is pressed in. When you turn it the pen tip comes out of the assembled pen. It seems lately that I have had quite a few when all is said and done, meaning the pen is assembled then when I turn the top part of the pen it just keeps on
turning. Sometimes the tip does not come out or go back in. I have had quite a few come back after say a month to 3 months and they tell me the top just turns either way and either the pen tip won't come out or it won't go back in. Any suggestions or tips for something like this? I have gotten to the point that I don't even make them any more or pens that use the same transmission. I have no problems with cigars, Sierra, Wallstreets, El
Grandes, etc. It is just frustrating because I need pens in the lower price bracket and I have sold quite a few but it just seems like in the last 6 months or so I started having these troubles. I don't want to sell pens that are going to come back in 3 months or so. Thanks for any help or tips.

I'm not going to ask your source, but I do know there was at least one eBay seller who was selling slimlines where the manufacturer provided tubes with the wrong id and about 75% of the kits failed just as you describe. If you bought on eBay pm the seller's eBay handle to me and I'll tell you if it was him. An occasional oversized tube can happen, but if you're getting a lot of them you might want to return the kits and go to another supplier.

Note: to those who know me as a vendor --- I do not sell slimlines. Just had
to buy a couple to make a pen for my grandson.

 

[BernieW]

Going to add so others know I got them from Woodcraft and I got some others from Penn State. I had ordered and made a dozen from woodcraft and had a dozen from PSI of which 5 were made. I know one failure was PSI but the others were from woodcraft. I got burned a few years ago buying pen kits on ebay. Haven't bought in probably 3 to 4 yrs. Only pen blanks.

Also a note of thanks again. I put a couple of small dimples with a small punch on the four I had in the shop waiting to figure out what to do and they now seem to be working fine now.